Siberian Huskies For Dummies

by Diane Morgan

  My own seven dogs eat a little dry food, a little canned food, and a lot of people food. And I have never had a dog with cancer, bloat, hip dysplasia, or hypothyroidism. Now, this could be coincidence. But I believe that dogs like and need a variety of different foods, both for their spiritual and their physical well-being.

  Original dietary requirements for dogs were developed in the 1940s by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Science. Since then, the responsibility for setting canine dietary requirements has shifted to the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).

  This is what we know about canine nutrition: Like human beings, your dog needs the following components in his diet: protein, fat, minerals, water, and carbohydrates. I cover each of these in the following sections.

  Protein

  Proteins contain the important amino acids that mammals need to grow and keep in good repair. Dogs need more protein than people do. Although no optimum level has been established, even 30 percent of the total calories in their diet is not too much protein.

  Siberians do not do well on soybean-derived protein; it can cause colic and diarrhea. Meat protein is usually considered best; a dog’s diet should be about 75 percent meat and the rest vegetables (not grain).

  Fat

  Fat is not bad for Working Dogs; on the contrary, it’s an important energy source. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which are oils, are essential to a healthy coat and may confer other health benefits as well. Once in a while, you’ll see omega-9 fatty acid on a label. But this is mostly an attempt to capitalize on the word omega. Omega-9 (or oleic) acid is the main ingredient in olive oil and is usually simply referred to as monounsaturated fat. Too much fat, however, especially when given all at once (as tends to happen at the holidays, when people feed their dogs fatty leftovers), can result in pancreatic problems.

  Most commercial dry dog foods contain between 5 and 10 percent fat, which is sufficient for sedentary dogs. Working Siberians require at least twice as much.

  Racing Siberians need 50 percent of their calories to come from fat! To achieve this level, mushers supplement their dogs’ meals with beef fat. They also often feed their dogs raw meat.

  What about fiber?

  Currently, there is disagreement about whether fiber is necessary in a dog’s diet, and if so, how much. Most veterinarians agree that diabetic dogs, especially overweight ones, can benefit from eating fiber, because it slows the absorption of glucose in the intestine, which in turn helps control blood sugar. However, fiber may also decrease the absorption of certain critical minerals.

  Dog food labels don’t adequately reveal how much fiber is contained in the product. The guaranteed analysis may list “crude fiber” as an ingredient, but that term refers to what’s left over from the food manufacturing process. The dietary fiber contained in the product can be several times higher.

  You don’t need to worry about fiber content in your dog’s food unless he shows signs of diabetes, diarrhea, constipation, or other health problems. Then consult your vet.

  Minerals

  Just like humans, dogs need the following minerals in their diets: calcium, phosphorus, potassium, salt, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, iodine, and selenium.

  All AAFCO-approved dog foods provide the minimum amount of minerals your dog needs.

  Water

  Providing your Siberian with plenty of fresh, clean water to drink is essential to his health. Dogs need between 1/2 and 3/4 fluid ounces of water per pound of body weight per day. That’s about 2 pints per day for a 50-pound dog.

  This estimate of the water requirements for dogs includes the water taken in through food. Just keep plenty of fresh water available all the time. Healthy dogs won’t drink too much. Excessive water consumption can be a sign of diabetes, so be sure to keep an eye on how much your Siberian drinks, and if his water intake changes drastically, consult your vet.

  Carbohydrates

  You may wonder why I haven’t mentioned carbohydrates in your dog’s diet. There’s a good reason for that. The carbohydrate requirement for your Siberian Husky is 0. That’s right, 0 percent. (There is some research that indicates that pregnant bitches need carbohydrates, but the evidence is tenuous.) Despite this fact, commercial dog foods usually contain about 40 percent carbohydrates, because they’re a cheap source of energy. And dogs can indeed use the energy carbohydrates provide. They just don’t need to. Because avoiding carbohydrates in commercial foods is impossible, look for brands that contain rice rather than corn, wheat, or soy. Rice is easier for dogs to digest.

  Reading the Labels

  Although most dog owners feed their pets commercial foods, few of them know how to read the label. You may be surprised to hear that as far as federal regulations go, very little is actually required of pet food manufacturers. Companies are required to accurately identify the product, provide the net quantity, give their address, and correctly list ingredients. They are not required to list the ingredients in any particular order. Some security is found by looking for the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) label. The AAFCO provides model regulations that pet foods must follow in order to carry the AAFCO label.

  AAFCO-labeled foods provide a guaranteed analysis of the food, calorie statements, and a nutritional adequacy statement. The AAFCO label also lists ingredients in order of their weight in the food, starting with the greatest and descending to the smallest. (Inherent water content is included in this calculation.) But the AAFCO label doesn’t necessarily guarantee that the product is any good or that it’s right for your dog. It just means that the food is properly labeled.

  Part of the problem with dog food labeling stems from the fact that most members of AAFCO work for pet food companies. Their primary allegiance may be with their employer rather than for the consumer. Critics claim that the testing that AAFCO performs is not particularly stringent and is in no way tantamount to a controlled scientific study.

  However, the good news is that the highly competitive dog food market is improving the quality of commercial foods. Today, owners have more choices than ever before; however, they also need to educate themselves on how to know what they’re buying.

  Check out the following list for keywords that pop up on dog food packaging. Here you’ll find out what those terms really mean:

  Beef, chicken, fish, or lamb: If an AAFCO-labeled product has the words beef, chicken, fish, or lamb in its product name, it must be 95 percent beef, chicken, fish, or lamb, exclusive of the water needed for processing. Even counting the water, the food must be 70 percent beef, chicken, fish, or lamb. These foods are all canned foods, by the way. No dry food is 95 percent beef, chicken, fish, or lamb.

  Dinner: If the word dinner, or a similar word like platter or entree is used in the product name, each featured ingredient must comprise between 25 and 94 percent of the total. So, a product with a name like “Diane’s Chicken Dinner for Dogs” must contain at least 25 percent chicken.

  With: If the word with is used, the named ingredient must be at least 3 percent of the total. So “Diane’s Chicken Dinner for Dogs with Liver” must contain 3 percent liver, as well as at least 25 percent chicken. “Diane’s Chicken Dinner for Dogs with Liver and Sirloin” must contain 3 percent liver and 3 percent sirloin, as well as at least 25 percent chicken.

  Flavor: If the label reads beef flavor, rather than beef, it need only contain enough beef to be taste-detectable. Because you’re probably not going to be taking a big bite of the food to see whether you can taste the beef, you’ll just have to trust the label at its word. The word flavor must appear in letters as large as those of the named ingredient, however, which ensures that you won’t mistakenly buy a product you think contains at least 25 percent beef, when really the food contains far less than 25 percent beef and only tastes like beef.

  Premium, Lite, Gourmet, Natural, Organic, Performance, and so on: These labels mean nothing. Not even AAFCO has so far devised regul
ations that products using these terms must meet. Read the content label carefully and compare.

  You may see the words crude fat or crude protein on the label. These terms refer to the method of testing of the product. It doesn’t mean that the protein or fat contained is any cruder than any other kind of protein or fat. You may notice that levels of crude protein are lower in canned foods than in dry foods. This is because of the large amount of water in canned food.

  Taking a Look at the Main Types of Dog Food

  When it comes to dog food, your choice is practically unlimited: dry food, canned food, semi-moist, people food, or any mixture thereof. There isn’t just one kind of food that’s right for you and your dog. Many factors come into play — convenience, expense, nutritional value, taste, availability, and allergies, just to name a few. What’s right for one dog is not right for all.

  The most important guideline to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t feed your Husky something he dislikes. Mealtimes should be a pleasurable experience for everyone, so why not shop around until you find something nutritious that your dog really does enjoy? If he seems to like something for a while, but then gets bored with it, change his food. It’s not hard to do, and you’ll be improving your dog’s overall happiness. Seems like a small price to pay, when you think about it.

  Dry food

  Dry dog food, sometimes referred to as kibble, was introduced to the world during World War II. It was a convenience for feeding military dogs. And that’s what it remains — a convenient, nutritionally adequate food for dogs. Dry food helps reduce tartar buildup on the back teeth (but not as much as brushing the teeth does).

  Don’t be seduced by fancy colors and shapes when it comes to dry food. Shape doesn’t matter, and the colors come from vegetable dye, not food nutrients.

  In comparison with other food choices, dry food is the least expensive, largely because of its high grain content, which is cheaper than meat. Dry food tends to be low in fat, which can be dangerous if your Siberian is a working dog.

  Don’t store dry food too long (no more than 2 weeks); it can lose some of its vitamin content over time.

  Canned food

  Canned food is much more expensive than dry, and it’s usually about 75 percent water. In AAFCO-labeled products, the maximum amount of water in canned foods is 78 percent, unless the food is labeled as gravy, sauce, or stew. In that case, water content can be even higher than 78 percent! Canned foods are also high in fat. They can be useful for mixing with dry food, however, because most dogs find them highly palatable.

  Some canned dog food contains grain products, and others have only meat. Whether grain products are good for dogs is controversial. (Foods containing corn, for example, tend to give dogs gas.) Dogs do need a vegetable element in their diet, so if you feed a pure meat dinner, you should supplement it with dog biscuits or fresh vegetables. Fresh meat is sometimes deficient in calcium.

  Semi-moist food

  Semi-moist food is about 25 percent water and can be just as high in sugar, in the form of corn syrup, beet pulp, sucrose, and caramel. This food promotes obesity and tooth decay, and of the available food options, it’s the least desirable.

  People food

  It’s perfectly okay to spice up your dog’s diet with some well-chosen people food. Dogs enjoy variety as much as we do. Many times, the same things that are good for us are good for them: fresh vegetables and even fruit, lean meat, and yogurt are fine. Avoid sweets, chocolate, high-fat dairy foods, and processed meat. Don’t give them to your dog either.

  I don’t recommend giving many dairy products to dogs; after weaning they are usually not able to digest them well. Yogurt is an exception, however. Most dogs benefit from a teaspoon of plain yogurt in their food, especially if they need extra calcium. Dogs like milk, too, but milk gives most adult dogs diarrhea.

  Never give raw eggs to dogs. Raw eggs contain avidin, a protein which can destroy the B vitamin biotin.

  If you do feed your dog people food, you should serve it at room temperature if possible, not directly from the refrigerator or a hot oven. Very cold food eaten rapidly can make a dog vomit. On the other hand, some food seems more palatable to dogs if slightly warmed. Even the Chukchis fed their dogs at room temperature. Of course, they had rather cold rooms to begin with.

  Considering Supplements

  A high-quality commercial dog food should be complete, although there is plenty of controversy about whether any commercial dog food really is. Some people believe that if you’re feeding a good commercial dog food, you don’t need to supply anything else. Other experts claim that we still don’t know enough about nutritional requirements to be sure of anything in this department. My advice is to start with a high-quality dog food and keep a careful watch on your Husky’s coat, energy level, weight, and general health. Add or subtract ingredients as you find necessary.

  Vitamin A and beta-carotene seem to enhance immune functions and may help to prevent some kinds of cancer. Be careful not to over-supplement, however. Large of amounts of vitamin A, for example, are poisonous. A couple of carrots a day will be just fine.

  Although dogs can manufacture their own vitamin C, unlike humans, a vitamin C supplement appears to lower cancer risk, and many holistic veterinarians suggest its use in managing the care of a dog diagnosed with cancer. Vitamin C also seems to reduce the side effects of some anticancer drugs.

  I give my own dogs vitamin E (for skin and coat) along with other antioxidants, like vitamin C. Some people further supplement their dog’s diet with selenium, but be careful not to give too much.

  Never give a Siberian puppy a calcium supplement; it can contribute to hip dysplasia, osteochondritis dissecans (a form of arthritis), and enlarged joints. It also binds zinc, resulting in zinc deficiency and a poor coat. And Siberians are prone to zinc deficiency. (Wheat germ is loaded with zinc; it makes a good addition to many dogs’ diets.)

  Figuring Out How Much to Feed Your Dog

  Research at the Ralston Purina Pet Care Center indicates that an inactive 50-pound dog requires 1,450 calories a day in the summer. The same dog requires 1,800 calories during moderate work or training, and 2,160 during heavy work. Now, get out your calculator! In the winter, for every 10-degree drop in temperature, add 7.5 percent more calories.

  These calorie requirements are for dogs in general, not for Siberians in particular. Siberians do need fewer calories than other breeds their size, but requirements vary greatly between different breeds and even between individual dogs within any breed. Consequently, it is not possible to predict accurately how many calories a particular dog will actually require. Use these estimates as a general guide and keep an eye on his weight; then adjust his diet as needed.

  For a quick check on your dog’s condition, look at him from above. A working dog of the proper weight will have an hourglass figure. If your dog looks like a rectangle from an aerial view, he is overweight. You can also view your dog from the side; his belly should tuck up neatly.

  Pet Huskies often carry more weight than their working counterparts. How much is too much? Run your thumbs firmly along your Husky’s ribcage. If your dog isn’t too fat, you’ll be able to feel each rib distinctly.

  If your Siberian lives and works outside in the winter, he may need twice as many calories as he does in the summer. You will also need to feed him more on working days.

  Looking at Performance, Maintenance, and Low-Calorie Foods

  Most high-quality dog foods come in performance and maintenance levels; however, the standards for these labels are not set by law or even by the AAFCO model regulations. Read the label carefully to determine how many calories and nutrients the food really provides. The difference largely depends upon how much exercise your Siberian is getting. A dog who just trots around the block or goes for a lazy stroll along the river bank with his owner will not need performance-level dog food. Pregnant or nursing bitches, of course, require higher levels of nutrients.

  Perfor
mance foods often contain higher levels of protein. Extra protein, however, is not stored in the body but simply metabolized and excreted in the urine.

  If your dog is overweight, he’s not alone. Recent studies show that 80 percent of household pets are overweight. The American Animal Hospital Association rates obesity as the top nutrition-related health problem in dogs. Don’t put your overweight Husky on a crash diet, however. You can buy commercial dog food in reduced-calorie varieties. Or you could simply cut out the cupcakes, lower his food and fat intake, and exercise him more. Your Siberian will love that.